The agency had earlier reported the earthquake's magnitude at 6.3 on the Richter scale but later updated it to 6.2 on the basis of the outcome of its analysis, Chief of the BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center Rahmat Triyono noted in a written statement.
The epicenter of the earthquake, striking at 00.24 WIB (West Indonesia Standard Time), was located 2.23 degrees southern latitude and 138.53 degrees eastern longitude, or 45 kilometers southwest of Sarmi City and at a depth of 11 kilometers, he revealed.
Gauging from the epicenter location and hypocenter depth, the earthquake was a shallow intensity one triggered by local fault activities, he explained.
He pointed out that the people in Sarmi noticed the tremor at III-IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale, Sentani at II-II on the MMI, and Wamena at I-II on the MMI.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage following the earthquake.
The result of monitoring indicated that the earthquake had no potential to trigger a tsunami, he stated.
On the basis of the result of monitoring until 00:43 WIB, the agency recorded an aftershock of magnitude 4.9 after the earthquake.
He appealed to the local people to stay calm and to not be misled by rumors.
Translator: Musa Abubar, Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
